Illustration, not a product photo.
RAKwireless · Dev board
RAK WisBlock Meshtastic Starter Kit
Low-power modular base for solar/battery nodes; Meshtastic community favorite.
Meshtastic: officially supportedMeshCore: supported
From $29.99List price on store.rakwireless.com, checked November 1, 2026
At a glance
Battery
Not included
GPS
Optional
Screen
None
Water resistance
Not listed
Chip
nRF52840 (low power)
List price
From $29.99
Strengths
- nRF52840 chip, which Meshtastic says uses less power than ESP32 boards
- Runs either Meshtastic or MeshCore
Trade-offs
- No battery included; check the connector before buying one
- No screen
Based on published specs, not hands-on testing.
Specifications
| Type | Modular dev board |
|---|---|
| Processor | nRF52840 (RAK4631 core) |
| LoRa radio | SX1262 |
| US 915 MHz version | Yes (900 MHz variant for US915/AU915/KR920/AS923 on RAK store.) |
| Screen | None by default (optional RAK1921 0.96 in OLED) |
| Keyboard | No |
| GPS | Optional (Add-on GNSS module (the store offers RAK12501 as a kit option).) |
| Battery | None included; JST PHR-2 connector for 3.7 V LiPo (RAK19007) |
| Solar input | Yes (JST ZHR-2 5 V solar connector (4.4-5.5 V); RAK store Q&A: TP4054 charger, no MPPT.) |
| Wi-Fi | No |
| Bluetooth | BLE 5.0 |
| Water resistance | Not listed |
| List price | $29.99 (RAK store, RAK19007 base without modules; the RAK19003 mini-base version starts at $24.99.) |
Checked November 1, 2026. "Not listed" means the maker and official docs don't state it.
Known issues and cautions
From the maker's documentation and the official Meshtastic docs.
- Meshtastic docs: Meshtastic requires the Arduino bootloader; RAK4631-R ships with RUI3 bootloader and must be converted.
- Meshtastic docs: RAK5005-O base board is End of Life.
- Meshtastic docs: RAK19007 charge controller max charge rate listed as '350mAh'; battery charging input 3.3-4.3 V.
Similar devices
- Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3 / V3.1 Dev board, $17.90–$19.90
- Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4 Dev board, $17.90–$27.50
- Heltec Wireless Tracker (V1.1) Dev board, $22.90
- Heltec Wireless Tracker V2 Dev board, $30.90
Sources
- meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/rak-wireless/wisblock/core-module/
- meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/rak-wireless/wisblock/base-board/
- meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/
- store.rakwireless.com/products/wisblock-meshtastic-starter-kit
- github.com/meshcore-dev/flasher.meshcore.io/blob/main/config.json
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